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THE STORY or 
OUNT ILOWE 





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PROF. THADDEUS S. C. LOWE. 

Eminent scientist and inventor, for whom 

Mt. Lowe was named. Builder of 

Mt. Lowe Railway. 



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Copyrighted 
Nineteen Eighteen 
Pacific Electric 
Railway C^imnnny 



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THE STORY of MOUNT LOWE 




MOUNT LOWE is the best known and most acces- 
sible peak of the Sierra Madre range of Southern 
CaHfornia, and is famous for the ease of its 
ascent and the extent and beauty of the panorama which 
is spread before the traveler from its summit. That its 
appeal is a wide one is shown by the fact that it is visited 
by more tourists than even the far-famed Yosemite 
Valley. 

The Sierra Aladres are a continuation of the Coast 
Range, and lie betw-een the fertile San Gabriel Valley 
wath its flowers and orange groves, and the barren 
wastes of the Mojave Desert. The name signifies 
"Mother Mountains," and was bestowed by the Francis- 
can Fathers who established in this valley the Mission 
of San Gabriel in 1771, and ten years later founded the 
"Pueblo of Our Lady of the Angels," which has since 
grown into the City of Los Angeles, the metropolis of 
the southwest. 

Mt. Lowe was named in 1892 for Professor Thaddeus 
S. C. Lowe of Pasadena, a scientist of note, wdio invented 
the military balloon and thereby played a prominent part 
in the Civil War. Other inventions by Professor Lowe 
were numerous and important, including the first artifi- 
cial ice machine in the United States and a process for 
making water-gas which saved its owners many millions 
of dollars. 

The Mount Low^e Railway, including the famous 
Incline, w^as projected and built by Professor Lowe, and 
was regarded by him as the crowning achievement of his 
career. It was opened to the i)ublic on July 4th, 1893, 




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and has operated continuously since that date without an accident — 
a most remarkable record. Soon afterward he built the Lowe 
Observatory on Echo Mountain, and Ye Alpine Tavern at the termi- 
nus of the railway. He also erected the Echo Mountain House, at the 
top of the Incline, which was destroyed by fire in 1900. Professor 
Lowe died in Pasadena, January 16th, 1913, at the age of eighty. 



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The Mount Lowe Trip 

The Mount Lowe trip, one of the famous tourist trips of the 
world, starts from the INIain Street Station of the Pacific Electric 
Railway, in Los Angeles, and the route lies through the industrial 
section of the city, and then through the aristocratic residence dis- 
tricts of Oneonta Park and Oak Knoll and the beautiful City of 
Pasadena, with its busy streets, attractive homes and great tourist 
hotels. Passing through the center of Pasadena, the car climbs to 
Altadena, the abode of millionaires, and on across the poppy fields to 
Rubio Canyon, where the grade suddenly becomes steeper, the sur- 
roundings wild and rugged and the first stage of the journey suddenly 
ends at the foot of the great Incline. 

A ])leasant side trip from this point is to follow the shady, wind- 
ing trail up the canyon, which is a favorite resort for picnic parties. 






The Great Incline 

The great Incline, perhaps the most striking feature of the 
Mount Lowe trip, is three thousand feet long and makes a direct 
ascent of thirteen hundred feet, the maximum grade being sixty-two 
per cent. The steel hoisting cable has a tested capacity of one 
hundred tons, but is never loaded beyond five tons, while an auxiliary 
safety qable, with automatic clutches, puts the risk of accident be- 
yond the range of possibility. At Rubio the traveler is completely 
shut in by high mountains, but as the car slowly ascends the view 
unfolds in ever widening vistas. 



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Echo Mountain 

Echo Mountain, at the top of the Incline, is thirty-five hundred 
feet above sea level, and commands a most extended view, the San 
Gabriel Valley being spread out like a checker-board at the feet of 
the traveler. Here is located the ingenious machinery of the Incline, 
a searchlight of three million candle power, and the Lowe Observa- 
tory, which is probably the only astronomical observatory in the 
world that is maintained solely for public use. 

This Observatory is under the direction of Professor Edgar 
Lucien Larkin, the well known astronomer, who gives free popular 






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THE GREAT INCLINE 

Maximum grade sixty-two per cent. Operated for twenty-five 

years without an accident. 



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lectures on Saturday, Sunday and holiday evenings and affords all 

visitors an opportunity to look through the great telescope. On these 

V evenings the searchlight is also exhibited, and the railv^^ay schedule 

•-,/ is so arranged that visitors may either "return to Los Angeles the 

*M same evening or spend the night at Ye Al])ine Tavern. The Observa- 

"' tory is also available on other evenings, by special arrangement, for 

the free use of private parties, schools, etc. 



Climbing to Cloudland 

From Echo Mountain to Alpine the journey is made in an obser- 
vation car, through scenes of increasing grandeur and never-ending- 
delight. The distance is five miles, with an ascent of fifteen hundred 
feet, and a maximum grade of nine per cent. For the greater part of 
the way the roadbed is cut out of solid granite, and even the most 
timid traveler is impressed with the solidity of construction and 
absolute safety of operation. In this wonderful five miles there are 
eighteen bridges and one hundred and twenty-seven curves, the long- 
est piece of straight track being two hundred and twenty-five feet. 
There are places where, as the road winds and doubles back and forth 
up the mountain, one can look down ui)on five different lines of rails, 
which prompted the witticism of Senator Depew some years ago that 
"it was not astonishing the road did not pay, when there was so much 
competition." 

Objects of special interest along the way — some of them famous 
throughout the world^are Las Flores Canyon (the Valley of 
Flowers), Cape of Good Hope, Grave of Owen Brown, son of John 
Brown of Ossawattomi, the Dawn Gold Mine, Devil's Slide, Horse- 
shoe Curve, Live Oak Forest, Circular Bridge, Sunset Point, Granite 
(}ate and Grand Canyon, at the head of which the car comes to rest 
before the door of Ye Alpine Tavern. 






Ml Lowe Resort 

Mt. Lowe Resort — Ye Alpine Tavern and Cottages — nestling 
among the giant spruce, cedars and oaks five thousand feet above the 
sea, is the terminus of the railway and a most charming stopping 
place, whether for a delicious luncheon, a day's sojourn or a month's rest. 

The Tavern is a picturesque inn in Swiss chalet style, with shady 
verandas, huge fireplace, attractive dining room and cosy guest 
chambers ; while the cottages — of which there are more than forty — 
are arranged either with hotel service or housekeeping facilities. The 
Resort extends a most tempting invitation to the wayfarer, and for- 
tunate indeed is he who can remain and }'ield to its spell. For him, 
after the crowd has gone, the squirrels will come down from their 



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LOWE OBSERVATORY 

Edgar Lucien Larkin, Director. Open free to the public on Saturday, 

Sunday and holiday evenings. 



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INCLINE CAR 

This unique car is arranged so as to always keep passengers 

"right side up." 



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leafy homes and beg for nuts from his hand, the twiHght will disclose 
new beauties in the shadowy forest and the sunset will fling its ban- 
ners of red and gold across the sky. At his leisure he may explore 
the trails to nearby points of interest — Inspiration Point, Easter 
Rock, Sunset Point and many others — or take long tramps into the 
back ranges of the mountains, including the six-mile trip to Mt. 
Wilson, which passes through some of the finest scenery to be found 
anywhere. 

Inspiration Point 

Inspiration Point is only a half-mile from the Tavern, and com- 
mands a view second only to that from the summit itself. The scene 
at night is particularly wonderful, the lights of Los Angeles, 
Pasadena and many other cities being spread like diamonds upon a 
background of black velvet, while in the morning one may frequently 
look down upon clouds shining like fields of snow. Near by is Easter 
Rock, the annual scene of one of the Easter sunrise services for which 
California is famous. 

To the Summit 

The final stage of the Mt. Lowe trip is from Ye Alpine Tavern to 
the summit, a distance of two and one-half miles by an easy trail, and 
is made either on foot or horseback as the traveler may prefer. The 
animals provided are perfectly safe and are in charge of a competent 
guide. The trail leads up one side of the mountain and down another 
and discloses new beauties at every turn, while from the summit is 
unfolded a wonderful panorama of mountains, canyons, valleys, cities 
and limitless ocean. 

Stretching far away to the northern and eastern horizon may be 
seen range upon range of rugged mountains, their peaks often capped 
with snow, while to the south stretches the fertile San Gabriel Valley 
with its orange and lemon groves and its picturesque cities and 
towns buried in roses. Comparatively near at hand is the beautiful 
city of Pasadena, and farther off lies Los Angeles, with its tall build- 
ings and wddely spreading suburbs. Farther stiir are the shores of 
the Pacific, with their succession of thriving beach resorts. Far out 
on the blue waters, sixty miles distant, is the "Magic Isle" of Santa 
Catalina, while on especially clear days may be seen the dim outlines 
of San Clemente and San Nicholas, more than a hundred miles away. 

Standing on the summit of Mt. Lowe, with such a beautiful 
world spread out at his feet, the traveler gains a new conception of 
the handiwork of God and man as here exemplified, and is also in a 
position to endorse the advice of the old-timer w'ho said: ."The best 
way to see Southern California is first to go up on Mt. Lowe and look 
at it all at once !" 






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GRANITE GATE 

Hewn out of the solid rock. An imposing portal to 

the glories beyond. 











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A BIRD'S EYE VIEW 

Sometimes you find yourself above the clouds, amid ever-changing 

scenes of beauty and mystery. 










CIRCULAR BRIDGE 

Famous the world over. One of the remarkable engineering feats 

of the Mt T " '-""ilway. 

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ON THE ROAD TO ALPINE 

An interesting feature of Mt. Lowe is the great variety and 

beauty of the forest trees. 




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CLIMBING TO CLOUDLAND 
Every curve discloses new beauties and an ever- 
widening horizon. 




YE ALPINE TAVERN 

Situated at the terminus of the railway 

a mile above the sea. 



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FIREPLACE. YE ALPINE TAVERN 

Where huge logs blaze cheerily on cool days, and big arm chairs 

await the tired traveler. 










DINING ROOM, YE ALPINE TAVERN 

Far famed for its delicious viands and 

immaculate service. 



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"THE BUNGALOW 

One of the most recent and luxurious additions 

to Mt. Lowe Resort. 




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HOUSEKEEPING COTTAGES 

1 a suggestion of camp life, but i^i' 
comforts and conveniences. 




THE SUNSET TRAIL 

One of the many alluring walks that tempt the 

Mt. Lowe visitor. 



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YE ALPINE TENNIS COURT 

A standard size cement court in such setting is a 

rare combination. 




SNOW ON MOUNT LOWE 

A scene like this within an hour's ride of orange blossoms is hard to find 

outside of California. 



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ON THE WAY TO THE SUMMIT 

An easy trail leads from Alpine Tavern to the summit of Mt. Lowe, 

eleven hundred feet above. 



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1. "On with the dance!" 

2. The Billiard Room. 

3. The Lights of the Valley. 

4. An Alpine Guest Room. 



5- "Ye Alpine Shoppe.' 

6. Easter Rock. 

7. A Cottage Kitchen. 

8. The Chef's Domain. 



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